Day 4: Yang Ming Shan, Taipei 101 & Wu Fen Pu

This being our second last day in Taipei, we already felt beaten, after days of walking and walking AND walking. As if that wasn't bad enough, we chose to go to Yang Ming Shan since the weather was pretty good. We walked to the main road near to Ximending for a bus to the foothills of Yang Ming Shan, without realising that the frequency of the bus was on an hourly basis after 10am. So we waited more than 30 minutes out in the open, weathering the strong and cold winds.

It was a relief that the bus finally came and it took us about one hour to reach Yang Ming Shan. We then took another shuttle bus within Yang Ming Shan to Xiao You Keng. It was one of the more popular routes and when we were there, we spotted the spouts of sulphur smoke emitting from amongst the rocks. I believed another characteristic of this place would be the steep flight of stairs, that seemed to be never ending.

Halfway through, my ears were hurting, so were my knees and ankles. I nearly wanted to give up. But Lar Lar used reverse psychology and said "It's so unlike you to give up halfway!" So ahead I went and brought my tired body up to the top of Qi Xing Feng! I was glad that I didn't give up halfway as it definitely felt good to reach the top after overcoming all obstacles.

All in all, it took about two hours to complete the route. And after the long walk, we made our way to the next 'must-go' destination which was Taipei 101 and did the usual touristy stuff. By evening time, the cloudy sky musked much of the sights from the vantage point.

We then took the cab, which the locals named them as Xiao Huang, to Wu Fen Pu. It turned out to be another shopping haven but I actually left empty handed! Nonetheless, it was an experience and definitely an eye opener to see so many shopping destinations and late night markets. It definitely lives up to its name of a city that never sleeps!